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“Let’s take this slowly, and we’ll let Van choose the path he wants to take. No one is getting forced into anything.” The guy sends me a dark glare.
“I agree. We take everything slowly, but my house is the base.” An idea forms. It’s not an idea I like, but the other option is to let Fischl out of my grasp which is not happening. “You should all move in.”
“Really?” Fischl says.
“No,” the other guy snaps at the same time.
I ignore him. “Yeah. I’ve got a ton of space here. There’s a mother-in-law suite on the first floor with its own kitchenette that he”—I jerk the top of my head toward the other guy—"can stay in, and there are four bedrooms up here. Your girl and Van can pick out which one they want. I can even bring in a decorator and have the kids redo everything so that they’re comfortable. The garage is six bays. I’ve got a couple of fun vehicles in there, but those can be moved to a storage shed. The kids all go to the same school. There’s a pool in the back. It makes a lot of sense.”
“Oh, that does make sense.” Fischl’s pale skin starts to bloom with color. She’s a fan of this idea. I try to keep a smug smile off my face.
“It’s done then. I’ll get a mover over to your place in an hour. They’ll pack everything up and bring it over here. You don’t have to do a thing but rest here or out by the pool.” I raise my phone to my ear. “Let me get my foreman on this, and we’ll have everyone situated before nightfall.”
“I never said okay to this,” the other guy says.
I cast him a challenging look. “You don’t have to move in if you aren’t comfy with the idea. I have no problem with that. How about you Fischl?”
“Of course not. Sebastian, don’t do anything you don’t want to.”
The man fumes, but it’s checkmate. He’s either moving in or being left out. Not that I care. I’ve got my family in my grasp. Nothing can go wrong from here.
CHAPTER14
FISCHL
It doesn’t take longfor the EMTs to give me the all-clear. They didn’t need to call them. I hadn’t hit my head, but I let them do their thing so it would give Cooper and Sebastian peace of mind. It also gives everyone a moment to try and cool their anger.
The more I calm down, the more I realize the mess I’ve made. Did I really agree to move in with Cooper? What is wrong with me? Do I want to live with Cooper and play house? My selfish answer is yes. That has always been my dream, but that’s not reality.
I have two children to think about. We only moved here three weeks ago. Am I really going to move them again? Well, technically it wouldn’t be me but Cooper who’s moving us. The man is a bulldozer. I suppose some things never changed. I probably should be mad about it, but I’m not.
It was one of the many things I loved about him. I would always question things. Try to come up with different plans. Not Cooper. With him, there was only one plan. And once he decided on that course of action, it was happening no matter what it took. I shouldn't have expected anything less. He wants this badly. Not only me but our son too.
“You got a key or do I need to pop your front door lock to get my family's things?” Cooper challenges Sebastian.
“Of course, you know how to pick a lock.” Sebastian throws his insult, shifting on his feet. He’s barely hanging on to his control. I can tell he wants to beat the shit out of Cooper. The last thing he wants to do is live with him.
“Can you give us a moment?” I ask Cooper. The situation between them is going nowhere fast. I need to try to defuse the tension.
“We’ve had enough of those apart.” I can’t blame him for how pushy he’s being. I would be the same way if I were in his shoes.
I’m trying to be understanding, realizing how much time he’s lost with his son. All because of lies that ripped us apart. Ones that came from my family. After everything that went down, I decided I never wanted to see my mother again. When she died, I felt nothing. That might sound cruel, but when I got word of her death, I was years into being a mom. Which made me come to the realization that she was never a mother.
“Cooper, I don’t think I can move here if Sadie and Sebastian aren’t fully onboard. Sadie is my daughter.” I can tell he wants to say no. “Please.” I run my fingers up his arm. “It will make things better. Trust me?” I’m not sure I’ve earned his trust. I spent so much time hating him for something he didn’t do.
“All right,” he gives. I know he has to understand. Duncan might not be his son by birth, but he’s still his son, nonetheless. “Give me your key and I’ll head out and wait. You have ten minutes.” He glances over at Sebastian.
“Deal.” I hand him over my keys and hold my hand out for Sebastian’s. He reaches into his pocket and yanks them out, taking the key off the ring.
“Thanks.” I transfer the key over to Cooper. I’m still lying in bed. They are on opposite sides of me.
Cooper leans down and kisses me on the top of the head. That seems to pacify him, and he turns and walks toward the front door. I can’t help but watch him go. I want to call him back. Wow, I’m falling fast. Right back to where we’d been.
“What the hell is going on, Fischl? Start explaining.” I turn my attention back to Sebastian. I have a lot of explaining to do and a short amount of time to do it. Because I know Cooper is probably counting down the seconds until he comes back.
“He didn’t sign the papers. He didn’t know about Van.” I can’t stop the tears from flowing now. “It was all my mother’s doing.” Saying the words out loud to someone else makes the reality of what she’d done really hit home. Sebastian's face softens immediately at my admission. Before I know it, he has me wrapped in a hug.
“So I’m guessing this means I don’t need to renew my membership in the Cooper Donovan Is the Devil Fan Club.” His words bring a smile to my face.
